Gavin's Journey
by peanutbutterprince
Summary: Gavin lives a boring life in a small village, but all of this changes when Eragon comes to test the village for dragon riders. On the foretold day of choosing, his life changes forever when his dragon hatches for him. But with Gavin, it's not so simple as "rider". He gets involved with old magics thought long gone, and another land that had been previously unknown to Alagaesia.
1. Chapter 1

**Hope you guys like the story, its my first one. All reviews are greatly appreciated.**

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Gavin's eyes snapped open, awake instantly. He had heard a rustling outside of his door. Gavin lived in a small 4-room home with his father, Rook, and his mother, Margaret. He was an only child, which was odd for a family of Hedgeride, a small village nestled near the base of the Beors, right on the edge of the desert. Hedgeride was all he had even known; he had never left, not even to go with the farmers in his town when they went to sell their crops in the dwarf cities. Hedgeride was one of the few human villages that the dwarves allowed trade with; they were generally a secretive people, preferring the dark damp tunnels of Farthen Dur to the sunlight.

Gavin slowly got out of bed, groaning from the sore muscles in his back. He had been working hard at the mill yesterday, and he rarely got any breaks. But then, as Gavin remembered what day it was, he gave out a whoop of joy, for today was the day of the ceremony he had been waiting for since it had been announced! When the Queens riders had come galloping into town a fortnight past, most of the villagers had reacted with closed shutters and whispered voices, for rarely did the queens soldiers come to their small village. Most of them were not scared, simply wary, because they all did love their queen. The riders had called to the village elders, and they had all convened around a campfire in the center of the villager. As they talked late into the night, Gavin grew fatigued and had to go to bed, he would hear what they had been talking about in the morning, he hoped.

As Gavin got up the next day, he eagerly rushed to the small kitchen in their home to see if his father had the news he was looking for.

"What news of the Queens riders," Gavin had asked, excitement radiating through him. He was practically jumping up in down in anticipation.

"Calm yourself Gavin," his father insisted, indicating a chair at their table, "have some breakfast and we will discuss it over tea."

Gavin groaned, father was always like this, slow moving and boring. "Yes father," Gavin said, reluctantly sitting in his chair and taking a bite of the stale bread that was breakfast.

Gavin sipped his tea, waiting patiently while his father lit his pipe.

* * *

"The elders talked with the riders deep into the night," Rook began, puffing on his pipe, "It wasn't until almost dawn that the riders left the fire and went to their camp." The elders addressed us shortly after, and they told us that the reason the riders had came was to bring us a message." A message that Eragon Shadeslayer, would be coming here, to this village"

Gavin sat there in a stunned silence, trying to understand the words that his father had just told him. Eragon Shadeslayer, the Eragon Shadeslayer, was coming to their village. Growing up, he had heard story upon story of Eragon, how he had single-handedly slain the evil king Galbatorix, how he was part human part elf, friends with the dwarf king and the queen of the elves. Sworn sword of Queen Nasuada. Gavin had dreamed all of his life of being like Eragon, as had every boy in his village.

"Son," his father called, lightly shaking his shoulder, "pay attention now, its rude to not pay attention when someone is talking to you." Gavin nodded, still processing the information.

"Father," he begun hesitantly, "why would Eragon come here, to our small village?"

His fathers morphed from one of amusement at him zoning out, to one of deep thought. "It has been foretold," he began, "that on the day Eragon arrives, a dragon egg will hatch for someone in the village." According to the Elders, Eragon himself asked the queen to send her riders, to send them here and allow us to prepare," he finished, not looking nearly as excited as Gavin was.

"When father?"

"Two moons," he replied.

Gavin thought this over, as a boy, he had always dreamt of being a dragon rider, but in the last few years as he had grown up, he decided that working besides his father in the mill and someday taking it over would be a good life for him. Now that his father was talking about it, it sparked some of his childhood interest and hope.

"I hope the dragon chooses me," he said wishfully, staring into his tea.

"Don't think like that lad," he father said, grinning despise his serious words, "I thought only yesterday you told me how much you loved working in the mill." He said, with an amused expression on his face.

"Yes father, I do like it here but I want to see the world."

"Now I do believe there is some wood to be chopped, so you better get to it," his father said, pointing towards the door.

"Yes father," he sighed, walked out of the doorway at the front of the house and walking around back to split the logs that had gathered the day before to stockpile before the winter. It was early for that, still late summer, but Rook was a careful man who liked to be prepared.

As he chopped the wood, all Gavin could think about was Eragon coming to his small village, and a seeing a dragon. A dragon! Ever since Eragon had rescued the eggs, there had been a few more riders, but they were few and far between. Only one of the village elders had ever seen a dragon, and every harvest day he would tell the story. It was one of Gavin's favorite days because of that. It had been when he was traveling to Gil'ead to discuss the taxation of the village, back during the rebellion. He had seen Thorn, the red dragon of Murtagh, flying south to meet Eragon in battle on the burning plains. Although the village was part of the empire, it was only in name. Rarely did Galbatorixes soldiers cross the Hadrac, the elder had told them, only to collect taxes.

Once Gavin finished chopping the wood, he headed to the village to buy more food for his father and him. Gavin walked down the dirt road, head down, thinking more about what was to come in two moons. He bumped into something and jumped back.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"S'alright," grumbled a grungy looking old man as he stumbled down the road.

Gavin did a double take, staring with wide-open eyes at this man. There were never, NEVER strangers in Hedgeride. This day just kept getting weirder and weirder. As he went into town, he heard some of the old washerwomen talking in excited whispers about the new man. So he was not the only one who had noticed.

After getting the food they needed by trading for some grain, Gavin returned home. As it was getting dark, and Gavin was tired, he prepared to go to bed after saying goodnight to his father. As he climbed into his straw bed, all he could think about was this strange day, and what was to come in two moons when Eragon arrived.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, but I would like to thank everyone who reviewed. Without further ado here is chapter two.**

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Gavin practically jumped out of bed, rushing to put on his nicest clothes. Today was the day that Eragon was coming.

In the previous weeks, Gavin had been waiting for Eragon, his anticipation building as the weeks went. As the second moon approached, Gavin's small town was awash with excitement for Eragon's coming. There had also been talk of the stranger (**A/N: The one from chapter one, who bumped into Gavin)**, who was sleeping behind the stables, but most of the members of the town thought that insignificant compared to the hero of the Alagaesia coming.

As Gavin rushed into the main room of his house where they ate, his father stopped him, holding him back with his arm.

"Calm down Gavin," he said in an even and calm manner, "you cannot rush the day, we will go to the town square at midday with the rest of the town, no sooner."

Gavin sat down in his chair, trying to be calm and failing.

"Father how can you be so calm today," Gavin asked, "Today Eragon comes!"

"As you age, you will learn patience, and then you will understand."

Gavin frowned at the cryptic response, his father was often like this, and sat down at the table to eat.

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"I believe it is time to go the squa…," his father started before he realized that Gavin had already rushed out of the door.

"Typical," he mumbled heading towards the square after his son.

As Gavin ran to the town square, he saw everybody in the town was already there, excepting the mysterious stranger that had been sleeping behind the stables. In the center of the square, some logs had been rolled up and some rough wood planks had been laid on top of those. To his extreme disappointment, the stage was empty and nobody was there.

As Gavin was looking around, an excited whisper spread through the crowd. He did not catch most of the words that were being said, but he did here the name "Eragon" repeated multiple times. Gavin strained his neck and attempted to see over the taller adults in front of him, but he could see nothing. Then, the crowd parted, and a man stepped forward.

His face was smooth and angled, with tapered ears and slanted eyes. He had brown eyes and brown hair and he looked not human. His ears were too pointed and his eyes too slanted, yet he still looked mostly human.

As he approached the makeshift stage, all eyes were on him. He mounted the stairs with a grace unlike anything Gavin had ever seen; even in something so simple as climbing stairs it was graceful and fair.

Then, he spoke.

"People of Hedgeride, I would like to thank you all for coming here today," he said, doing a small bow.

"N'problem," most of the crowd muttered.

"As you most likely know, I have come here today to see if any of the dragon eggs I have brought are right for you," Eragon said. "There is a prophecy, not of this specific village, but of this moon cycle, that somewhere in Alagaesia a rider will be chosen."

He then muttered a word that was incomprehensible, and with a blue flash and a snap, a burlap sack appeared in front of him. The crowed gasped, taking a step back and flinching. None of them had seen magic before, for that was what Gavin assumed it was, so they were unduly frightened. Some of the men made the sign to ward evil, but they still started to move forward again.

"I would ask of you that you would please all form a line, so each of you can be tested with the two eggs I have brought here today."

Gavin started to line up with the others near the front, when suddenly he was shoved into the mud, and he heard a mean-spirited laugh. He looked up, already knowing what he would see, and saw Trof standing there. Trof was one of the four boys around Gavin's age, and he had always bullied Gavin and beat him up, most of the time for pointless reasons. Gavin eyes glazed over, remembering the day that Trof had gone too far…

_**Flashback**_

_Gavin walked down the street, humming a happy tune to himself. It was his name day (that's what they called birthdays) and his father had given some money to go and buy something at the market! Going to the market was a rare occurrence for Gavin, because his father only made enough money for him and Gavin to get by at the mill. As Gavin walked down the road, he was pondering what he could buy with this money. "A pie maybe," he thought "or some sweets."_

"_Whats got you so happy, pig," he heard someone snarl from behind him. He turned around to look and saw Trof there._

"_Just going to the market," Gavin said, hoping Trof would not cause trouble," I better be on my way nice to see you," Gavin says as he walked off._

"_Not so fast, piggy," Gavin heard as a hand wrapped around his back and threw him on the ground, with a jingle from the coins._

"_Looks like piggys got some coin!," he exclaimed, smiling with a sick pleasure._

"_I'll be taking that, thanks piggy," he said as he took the money from a struggling Gavin._

"_Stop," Gavin yelled, running after him," Give it back!"_

_Trof stepped forward with a wicked grin on his face and punched Gavin in the nose, causing it to gush blood over his tunic._

"_Ow," Gavin groaned," Im telling my dad about this."  
_

"_Better not piggy, or you'll get worse," He said, walking towards the market with a jump in his stride._

_**End of flashback**_

Gavin shook off the memory and realized he had been siting in the mud for a good ten minutes. He stood up, brushing off some of the dirt, and got into the back of the line. As Gavin watched, one by one the villagers walked off with a frown on their faces after trying to get the eggs to hatch for them. By the time it was his turn, most of them had returned home, saying something about wasted time.

Gavin stepped onto the stage, heart beating.

"You are the last," Eragon said, "but this is not the last village I will try, please approach the eggs and lay your hands on them."

Gavin looked at the eggs, in awe of their beauty. One was a deep purple, with veins of black running through it. The other was a tan white. The eggs were the most beautiful things he had ever seen.

As Gavin touched the eggs, he gasped, they felt hot. He stood their for two minutes, disappointment radiating through him with each passing second.

"I'm sorry," Eragon sighed," coming to this village was a waste of all your time."

Feeling sad, Gavin begun to step down of the stage when he heard it.

_Crack_

Gavin stopped going down the steps and froze.

_Crack_

Slowly Gavin turned around, just as a head pushed the remaining shell off the dark purple egg.

Gavins last thought was "It chose me… me…" and then he fell to the ground, unconscious.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and follows guys! It really helps.**

**Disclaimer****:**

**I do not own the Inheritance cycle or any characters. This disclaimer stands for the entire story.**

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Gavin came to slowly, blinking hard to try to adjust his eyes.

"Where am I?" He slurred, still disoriented from waking up.

"You are in your father's home," replied a man. Then, with a start, Gavin realized the man was Eragon. Then it all came rushing back to him. The dragon, Eragon, everything. Gavin's jaw dropped as he realized the implications. HE WAS GOING TO BE A RIDER! Gavin had trouble wrapping his head around this.

"Did it really… did it…" Gavin said, at a loss for words.

"Yes," Eragon said simply, understand Gavin perfectly. He moved to the side and there, sitting on the table, was Gavin's dragon.

Gavin stared in wonderment, for he had never seen something so beautiful before. It was smaller than a chicken, but it was much longer because of its tail.

The harder scales on its back were the same dark purple as its shell had been, almost black, with streaks of lighter purple. Its stomach, Gavin saw as it stretched, was a lighter purple, but the scales looked much harder. It long wings, which were pressed tightly against its torso were a medium shade of purple, with distinguished veins webbed across them.

As Gavin moved to get up, he blushed slightly in embarrassment. Even if it was a dragon, it had been very unmanly of him to feint.

"Go on," Eragon urged him, "touch your dragon for the first time, it is an important tradition."

Gavin slowly extended his arm right arm towards his dragon, suddenly worried at what would happen. Gavin had a simple life, nothing like this ever happened to him and he was anxious. As he lightly brushed the head of the dragon, a fiery pain raced down his arm. Crying out in pain, he recoiled looked at his hand, expecting to find a burn. Instead, much to his dismay, there was a slowly appearing shiny silvery mark. The pain was gone, but there was a tingling running down his arm, originating in his arm.

"The gedwëy ignasia," Eragon said, a smile breaking out on his face. "And on the right hand too!**(A/N that part will be explained later, Gavin just wasn't paying attention so he did not question it)**"

"What is is?" Gavin stared down again, and when he tried to focus on it, it started to glow brightly.

"It is the mark of a rider," Eragon explained, pulling down his glove. He showed his right hand to Gavin, where a silvery mark similar to his was sitting. "It marks the bond between rider and dragon," Eragon continued, "and it will identify you as a person of import to all races." But do not flaunt it," he warned, "We will keep it hidden for now like it is with mine glove."

Gavin nodded in understanding, even though he did not understand.

Suddenly, Gavin fell from his chair clutching his head. He felt like his brain was being poked with a red-hot spear, he could not gather any coherent thought. Then, as he sat there writhing in pain, he felt something in his head.

"Its in my head!," he screamed, still on the floor. Suddenly, it was like someone had poured water on his head, and the pain and the presence in his head receded. When he focused, he realized that there was now a third presence, an almost musical one, holding the confusing mass of curiosity that was the other one behind. As he looked up from the ground, he saw Eragon staring at him in complete shock. Gavin was worried that he had done something bad.

"Do you fell me in your head?" Eragon asked.

"Is that you?," Gavin asked, dumbfounded. How had a person invaded his head! He slowly started to panic again when Eragon reached a hand out and touched his shoulder.

"Calm your mind, Gavin, I am only holding back your dragon."

"I-I-It can touch my mind too?" He asked again dumbfounded by this new world that was being introduced to him.

"Yes it can, but normally this does not happen for many days." Eragon looked very confused, and then he turned to his father.

"Do you know how to defend yourself from the attacks of the mind, and in turn attack yourself?" When he asked this he looked at his father, an inquisitive look on his face. Gavin was confused, did this mean his dad knew of these things? If so, he had never shown anything of the sort, he had seemed a normal father to Gavin.

Much to Gavins surprise, his father gave a stiff nod, a hard look on his face.

"Who taught you this," Eragon asked.

"It was a strange woman, she came to town one day completely out of the blue. She was a herbalist…" Gavin's father stopped when he saw Eragon's reaction to this. His face had taken a look of utter shock.

"Was her name perchance, Angela?" He asked.

His father looked dumbstruck, "Do you know her?"

Eragon chuckled, surprising both Gavin and his father. "Indeed I do, and let me tell you. Her teaching you this is no coincidence. You were taught by arguably the most powerful witch in Alagaeia," he finished.

His father looked shocked and just sat down at the table, staring off into space.

Eragon now turned his attention back to Gavin, and began speaking. "Do you…"

He was stopped as suddenly, the roar of what sounded like a huge beast shook the house, making the table fall over and drinks spill everywhere. Eragon instantly sprung up, a look of fear on his face.

"Get your stuff, we leave now." He got off, before another roar shook the house.

With this one, Gavin realized something. It was not the roar of a great beast; it was the cry of what sounded like a _herd _of _beasts._

Gavin stood still for a moment, then rushed to grab his things, shaking with the fear of those beasts.

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**A/N: Sorry for the HUGE delay, should have the next one up soon. Left you with a bit of a cliffhanger, but you will like to know that you will find out who the mysterious old man is in the next chapter.**

**~PBP~**


	4. Chapter 4

**I would like to thank again all of my reviewers, followers, and people who have favorite this story. Thanks also to Spencer (SpenstarianCreed1) for helping by being a beta. He writes stories for Fullmetal Alchemist, you guys should check them out if you can.**

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Gavin stood there for a minute, stricken by the recent events, and then quickly dashed past his father into his small room. Gavin grabbed the small amount of possessions that he had. His most treasured possession was a knife his father had given to him for his 13th name day. It was a deep purple/black knife with jagged edges. His father had called it "obsidian". He said it was from a faraway place, and Gavin had loved it. The other things he grabbed were simple: some breeches and his water skin.

Gavin rushed back into the kitchen, nearly barreling into his father. His father held him by the shoulders and leaned in.

"Gavin, be safe," he said, looking at him with love in his eyes. "I will stay here, and if you ever come back I will be here."

Gavin felt tears begin to come to his eyes, but he pushed them away. He quickly went out the door to where Eragon was waiting. On the way out he turned his head slightly towards his father.

"Thank you," he mumbled then pushed outside.

Gavin saw Eragon standing at the end of their road, waving furiously for him to come over. Gavin ran to him, and Eragon put a finger to his lips, telling Gavin to be quiet. Eragons face scrunched up in concentration and he closed his eyes, then a roar shook the ground again, only not the same one. Suddenly, a huge sapphire blue dragon swooped down and landed gracefully beside them. Gavin started to run away, frightened, but Eragon stopped him by saying, "It is ok, Gavin, this is my dragon, Saphira."

"Hello little one," a feminine but powerful voice rang in his head.

"I… It can talk?" Gavin asked, dumbfounded for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.

"OF COURSE I CAN TALK," the voice screamed in his head, making Gavin cry out in pain.

Eragon grimaced, "You would do well not to offend a dragon, as many have found out. Alas, I digress, it is time for us to leave."

With those words Eragon gracefully jumped 10 feet into the air and onto Saphira's back. Gavin started to awkwardly climb her leg when Eragon reached down a hand to help him up.

"Thanks," Gavin mumbled.

Gavin's dragon was just climbing onto his shoulder when the roar came again, but much closer. Suddenly, Saphira tensed her hind legs and leapt into the air. With a flap of her huge wings, they were off.

To say flying was great would be an understatement. Gavin felt truly free for the first time in his life. He let out a _whoop whoop_as Saphira climbed higher. His euphoria was suddenly interrupted when he heard a groan. Gavin turned to see Eragon looking behind them, his face white with fear and disbelief. Gavin slowly turned himself, feeling fear in the pit of his stomach. Behind them were the beasts that they were fleeing from, and they were _flying_! Even at first glance, Gavin could tell they were not dragons.

They were all black, but they had a tough, thick hide. They had large leather wings. Most unnerving of all, was their large black eyes. They were the size of a grown man's fist, with no pupil or iris. All over, their body had the appearance of starved dogs. They were smaller than Saphira, but there were 13 of them. And as he looked closer, he saw small humanoid figures on their backs. They looked like humans, but their backs were oddly shaped and they had cloaks with cowls pulled up so he could not see their faces.

"Letherblaka," Eragon muttered, looking stricken with fear and panic.

Without warning, one of the riders of these "Letherblaka", as Eragon had called them, pulled down his hood and stared straight at Gavin's eyes. Even from this distance, Gavin was frozen with fear. What Gavin saw in those eyes made him want to curl up into a ball and never see the light of day again. As Saphira made a sharp turn away from the village, Gavin found that he was unable to lean with her, and he started to shift out of the saddle towards the village. With that momentum, Gavin's body slipped out of the saddle, and Gavin could do nothing about it, still looking into the eyes of the Letherblaka's riders. As Gavin plummeted towards the earth and broke eye contact with the rider, he began to flail and scream for his life. He looked up to see Saphira making a turn and diving, but he knew she would be too late. Seconds from hitting the ground, he closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact, for _death_.

And then… nothing. No bone-shattering impact, no sudden darkness. "Is this what death is like?" he thought. Then he realized that he could still hear his heartbeat, still feel the fear coursing through his veins. He tentatively opened one eye, squinting against the sun.

Standing before him, old dusty robe thrown to the ground behind him like a forgotten dream, was a tall man with salt and pepper hair. He had a close trimmed beard, and hard brown eyes. He held himself up so straight and regally, that it took Gavin some time to realize that he was older than his father. His face was somewhat lined, and he had specks of grey in his dark black hair. The man had what looked to be dirt covering his hands and face, seemingly smeared in. Gavin looked at the cloak lying forgotten on the ground and realized that this was the old stranger that had been in the town for the last few months. It was only then that Gavin realized the man was standing facing Gavin, palm held out. Gavin looked below him and was shocked to see himself levitating off the ground, held in place by an invisible wind.

The stranger then lowered his hand slowly, and Gavin returned to the ground.

"Thank you," Gavin managed to spit out.

"It is of no consequence, for I came here to speak with you." When the man spoke, he spoke with a confidence that Gavin had never seen.

"I have but one thing to say to you, and that is this: Go to Arya Drottningu, queen of the elves, and seek your salvation. You will see me again." With those final words he disappeared right before Gavin's eyes. Gavin looked up to see him appear floating in midair before the Letherblaka, who had almost reached him. He reached both hands out, palms flat, as if to stop them. Then a voice rang out, so loud that Gavin was sure it was heard for miles around.

"Stop in your tracks, Letherblaka and Razac, today you shall not defile these innocents. You shall leave this place, never to return again. So says I, Rogbard, son of the sun."

With those words, there was a bright flash of light and "Rogbard" disappeared. The Letherblaka turned and fled, their wings beating with even more speed than they had been using while chasing came up behind Gavin and lay a hand on his shoulder, "I suppose you want some answers to your questions, and rightfully so. But now we must fly. Take your dragon Gavin, and we will discuss all of this tomorrow."

Gavin nodded, and his dragon crawled up his arm onto his shoulder. He gave it a light pat on its nose, and it let out a puff of smoke. Gavin then clambered onto Saphira with Eragon's help, and they flew away from the village that was his childhood.

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**Please review and let me know what you think, more reviews=faster updates. Every review helps a lot. The next update may be a little bit slower than this one was, but not by much.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of the reviews, follows, and favorites I have been receiving. It means a lot and now I am updating much quicker I have noticed. You guys are inspiring me :)**

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As they flew, Gavin marveled over his dragon. He was lost in the swirling purple of its scales, when he realized that he did not know its gender. He thought of turning it over to look, but it was coiled up against his chest. Eragon looked back, seeing him awkwardly trying to turn it over and not wake it up.

Eragon laughed, causing heat to rush to Gavin's cheeks.

"I was just…" he started, when Eragon interrupted him.

"It is a boy," he said, smiling at Gavin.

"What was that earlier," Gavin asked, referring to when he had felt the pain in his head and Eragon said it was his dragon, "When he got in my mind."

The grin momentarily slipped off Eragon's face, but it soon returned. "That is the link between dragon and rider. It allows us to speak in our mind to dragons, up to a certain distance. It allows us to feel each others emotions too, unless one of the two blocks their mind."

"Is that what you did earlier, block my mind?" A curious Gavin asked.

This time Eragon did grimace. "I wish I did not have to do that, but it was necessary because it is unusual for two minds to bond so early. I attribute this partially to the fact that your father can touch minds, and in part because of your own strong mind."

"Could I touch his mind again," he asked, referring to his dragon.

Eragon look wary. "We should wait, and I will test your mind myself tomorrow. If I think you are strong enough, then we shall see."

Gavin nodded, wondering if he even wanted to touch the mind of his dragon again. It had been terrifying. His mind had not been evil or anything of that sort, but it was just an otherworldly feeling to have another being in his head. He felt as if he had to share the space that had previously been all his.

Gavin was pulled out of his trance when Saphira began to make her decent.

"We will camp in that clearing for tonight, then in the morning we shall begin travelling."

"Where are we going?" Gavin asked.

"Initially I was going to take us to Illirea, but now that the Razac are in pursuit, that is changed. We will cross the Hadarac and go into Du Weldenvarden. From there we shall go to Ellesmera, the capital city of the elves."

Gavin was stunned. Elves were almost like a myth in his village, nobody had ever met nor seen one. He knew that the elves were in Du Weldenvarden, because that information came out after the war had ended.

"Get some sleep now," Eragon prodded, "We have a long flight ahead of us tomorrow."

With those words, Eragon drifted into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Gavin woke to Eragon's hand on his shoulder and his hand over his mouth. Once Eragon was sure Gavin was up and would not make any noise, he removed his hand and put one finger over his mouth, signaling for Gavin to be quiet. Gavin strained his ears, trying to hear anything other than the leaves rustling in the forest and insects buzzing around. Eragon suddenly turned around faster than Gavin thought possible and drew his sword in the same motion. He was looking at the dense underbrush behind Gavin, and Gavin turned as well. Gavin heard another rustling and then heard a woman's voice.

"Sharp as ever Eragon," Eragon stiffened when he heard the voice, indicating that he knew the woman. This only made Gavin's confusion grow, if she knew him, why was she sneaking up on them?

Just then, a woman of short stature with thick, curly brown hair walked out of the brush and casually wiped the dirt of her shirt.

"Well?" She asked, stand there expectantly, "Are you not going to ask me to sit by your fire?"

Eragon grinned widely and motioned for the fire, "Of course Angela."

Gavin gaped at her, who was she to be able to walk in and simply we invited to sit by the fire?

She looked to be about 24, slightly older than Eragon, but he knew he was much older than he looked. As he looked closely at her, he noticed that she walked with a certain confidence, and she had knowledge in her playful eyes much beyond her age.

"Your older than you look," Gavin blurted out, and then he pulled his hand over his mouth in embarrassment. "SORRY! I did not mean for it to come out like that!"

Angela looked closely at him before saying, "No harm done, you are of course right. I am much older than I look, although very few have noticed that when first meeting me. 3 to be exact, including you. Even Eragon here thought I was in my twenties."

"How old are you, if you don't mind me asking," inquired Gavin.

"I would not answer that one," she said, "Even fewer know the answer to that one."

She then clapped her hands, and the fire sprung up to a new level. Gavin stumbled back, in awe at this use of magic. Angela did not seem to notice however, as she started to pull things out of her small pouch on her side. Gavin squinted, not believing what he was seeing. She wall currently pulling a full sized cauldron out of the small pouch on her side. He shook his head at this new display of magic.

"Are you a witch?" he asked her.

"Maybe, maybe not," she said with a smile on her face.

"You will not get far getting answers out of this one, Gavin. Trust me, I have been trying for forty years," Eragon explained.

Gavin knew riders lived a long time, but he didn't know how Angela had lived so long. She must be nearly as old as Eragon, or older!

As Gavin started to stand, his dragon curled up tighter against his chest in protest, for it was still sleeping. He had almost not noticed it there. He was beginning to feel more attached and protective of the dragon.

As he was stroking the scales of his dragon, as large shaggy black cat stepped into the clearing.

He then heard a voice in his head, this one feline, and he realized it was the cat.

"Hello, brother of the wind," it said, "It is good to see you on this morning."

Angela and Eragon leaned forwards towards him, looking intent. Angela looked impartial, but Eragon looked almost worried.

"What did he say, Gavin," Eragon prodded.

Angela smacked him on the back of the head, "You don't have to answer that Gavin, just know it is an honor that Solembum spoke with you. He does not speak with many."

"Angela," Eragon began, "Gavin's dragon has also talked with him, this is not normal."

"Nor bad," Angela said, not putting an end to his worries.

"Solembum called me a "brother of the wind", what does that mean?" Gavin asked, thoroughly confused.

Angela looked up sharply, looking angry for the first time. "Brother of the Wind?" She asked, "Those words exactly?"

"Yes," Gavin nodded, suddenly wary because of her tone.

"Make haste and pack up the camp, we must leave now," she said rushing around in a hurry returning things to her pouch.

It was then that he heard 13 distant roars, and he blacked out for the second time in two days.

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**Remember more reviews=faster updates. I busy in the real world right now, but i can always find time to write. At least the updates should be every week. ****Hopefully they will be every 3-4 days. This chapter did not go through a beta, so I apologize if i made any mistakes.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Wow... its been... forever. Never try writer block, it sucks. This chapter is a bit longer than usual, but still my usual way too short. That will be fixed soon, i will be writing longer chapters because these are crazy short.**

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Eragon looked down at Gavin worriedly for what seemed like the millionth time that day. Gavin had blacked out when the Letherblaka had resumed their chase, and he had been in a fevered sleep for three days. With Eragon and Angela's knowledge of healing, it should have been easy to heal him, but they had been unable to make any progress. After the first day of fleeing from the Letherblaka, Saphira's speed and endurance bought them a few hours of rest before they continued on. It was during that time that Eragon had looked at Gavin for injuries, but he couldn't find any physical injuries. After Eragon had determined that it was a problem in Gavin's mind, he had tried to examine his mind. Much to Eragon's surprise, he was completely blocked out of Gavin's mind by the strongest barriers he had ever seen. Most of the time, he could determine what was making a person's mind barriers, whether it be anger or hate, but he could not determine with Gavin's mind.

Because he could not determine the problem, Eragon asked Angela to examine Eragon's mind, but she refused. She also refused to say why, which made Eragon's curiosity grow. Gavin had only been a rider for less than a week, but already he was communicating with his dragon by the mind touch, being chased by an evil species that was thought to be extinct, and had a mysterious protector with magic to rival Eragons.

Saphira had needed to sleep, so they slept there for a few hours, then continued to fly towards Ellesmera. Eragon hoped that the elven healers could help Gavin out of his comatose state, and maybe they would know something about why Solembum had called Eragon a "brother of the wind". Angela had also know about that, and told Eragon nothing. Eragon growled in frustration at the thought of the witch and her secrets. He heard Angela laugh from behind him.

"I wonder what you are thinking about, hmmmm?" Angela asked, a wry grin on her face.

"Thinking about you and your infernal secrets," Eragon growled back in response.

Angela laughed again, "all will be revealed in good time," she answered cryptically.

_Of course, _Eragon thought to himself, _another damn riddle._

"Look there," Angela said, pointing over his shoulder in front of them, "we approach Du Weldenvarden."

Eragon squinted and he saw the edge of the forest. With Eragon and Angela's advanced eyesight (he had no clue how she had hers, he was half elf so he could see much farther than an average human), they could see the forest from many leagues away.

Eragon came to a decision.

"We will fly through the night to reach the forest, then camp at the edge and start our journey again in the morning."

**Can you make it, Saphira, **he thought to his dragon.

_Of course little one, I could fly for days more, but I need to hunt once we reach the forest._

Eragon knew the elves did not condone hunting by humans in their forest, but they would do anything for a dragon so they had no problems with dragons hunting.

Eragon looked down at Gavin again, worried. He was tossing and turning in his fitful sleep, his brow dotted with sweat. Eragon pulled out his wineskin and put it to Gavin's lips, but he closed them fiercely and Eragon could not push it past them.

"He may not have much time left," Eragon said with a worried expression on his face, "we must go faster Saphira."

Without a word of protest Saphira beat her wings faster, and they sped towards Du Weldenvarden.

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[Gavin POV]

He was living in a world of nightmares. He had no idea how long he had been like this; it simultaneously felt like years, hours, and only seconds. All he did know was the pain. The gut-wrenching heart-stopping pain. He saw flashes before him, of his childhood, his family, and the recent events with his dragon. The only constant was pain. There was Gavin lying in the alley, nursing his face after he got in a fight. His father, lying on his sickbed for weeks. His best friend Trevor, falling from the roof of his house and dying.

He also saw things that were not memories, but more like visions. He saw beasts that looked like the Razac tearing apart a carcass that looked frighteningly similar to humans. He saw them chasing down Eragon on their terrible beasts, and striking him down with their wicked black blades, flicking in and out like the tongue of a serpent.

Then, his father appeared before him. There were in a place Gavin had never seen before, it was a barren wasteland of cracked red clay. Molten lava ran in the cracks he could see in the ground. His father was lying on the ground with a wound in his stomach, slowly dying.

"Gavin," he weakly mumbled, "why did you leave me? You did this to me."

Gavin wanted to cry out, he wanted to run to his father and tend to his wounds. But he could not, his legs were frozen to the ground, his mouth clamped shut. His father's head fell down to the ground, and the light began to leave his eyes.

"Why…." He croaked out, then his final breath left him and he sagged to the ground.

Only then could Gavin move, and he ran to his father and fell by his side. He was weeping, and he felt like he was going to throw up.

"Nooooooooooooo," he tilted his head upwards, screaming at the red sky.

Without warning, he was in another place, and he could see a girl from his village, Terah, being beaten by the older boys. She was curled up on the ground, weeping into the dirt. She was begging for help, but once again Gavin was immobilized. Several more visions like this flew by, each more terrible than the last. Gavin could feel his mind slipping into madness, because he simply could not stand the horrors around him.

Gavin was watching the Razac chase more people down, when suddenly his pain and anger went away. His angst replaced by a soothing river of calm feelings. His mind travelled yet again, and this time he was in a meadow. For as far as he could see, there were rolling hills dotted with wildflower, the grass swaying slightly in the breeze. He looked down and saw himself in a fine tunic, it was the softest thing he had even felt. He was sitting with his legs crossed in the grass, facing and old man. The man looked to be in his 70's, with startling blue eyes and small wrinkles around his face. His hair was a deep black despite his apparent age, and it flew down past his neck to his mid back. It was as he was staring at the man that he spoke.

"I have brought you here for two reasons," the man said, his voice showing the same intelligence and experience that his eyes had.

"One of them is simple, one, not so much. The first of these reasons is the simple one, to relieve you of your suffering. As to why you are suffering, that is not so simple."

His sharp blue eyes were focused on Gavin, watching his every move.

"Will you tell me why I am suffering, my Lord?" Gavin asked.

Much to Gavin's surprise, the man burst out laughing. He looked up and noticed Gavin's bewildered expression and began to laugh even harder. After a few minutes he composed himself and sat back up.

"Please excuse that outburst," he said," but I found it amusing that one of your stature would call me a lord."

Gavin was confused again, "Of my stature, what are you talking about?"

This time the man looked confused, "You are dragon rider, are you not?"

Gavin nodded and the man continued, "I shall continue, I should not have wasted my time laughing. We have little time here together Gavin, and I wish to make it count. I cannot explain why you are suffering, at least not yet, but I can tell you that it will come to an end soon."

Gavin must have looked relieved and the man flinched, "That may have been misleading, when you leave here, your nightmares will continue."

Gavin felt a sinking despair inside of him, if he went back into that he did not think he could keep his sanity.

"Worry not, Gavin, for you will come out of this. You need only wait awhile longer," the man suddenly sat up strait, and strain appeared on his face.

"We will meet again, keep your light in the darkness," with that the man disappeared, and Gavin prepared himself to reenter the darkness.

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**So... kind of angsty at the end there. Well hopefully Gavin will be ok. Im sure Gavin would love some reviews (*wink wink nudge nudge*)**


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